Essay Sample on Genre Conventions in Literature

Introduction

Genre conventions, especially in literary works, present cliches, devices, or tropes that act as defining features for the genre and placing readers or viewers in the context intended by the author. Literary conventions can feature various aspects of a structure including acts in a play, prosody including rhymes, or content such as the humor in comedies. This paper explores two books; the Awakening by Kate Chopin and the Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare to explain why the authors of these respective works chose to work in their particular genre. The paper examines various opportunities offered by each genre of these two books and determines how the fullest expressions of these authors were possible by writing in their respective genre. In addition to that, the paper also explores how each author expanded upon the conventions of their respective genres. Finally, the paper wraps up with a concise conclusion followed by a list of works cited.

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'The Awakening' by Kate Chopin is a wonderful example of novels, typically known as a novella. Kate Chopin had a great purpose that pushed her to develop the story, and she was so much enthusiastic to relay her message to the people. As the name suggests, 'The Awakening' story is all about awakening to the society. The story influences the readers to process their emotions and discover some awakening for themselves in the process. Kate did more than entertainment for her readers. In her novel 'The Awakening,' Kate educates the society and helps her readers to learn about themselves. For this reason, Kate systematically writes the story to enable her readers to feel part of the story and follow the story as it progresses from one theme to another and from one area of concern to the other. Kate expresses the themes in a perfect manner. By using the genre, the novel style, Kate achieved a great deal in expressing clearly her themes. For example, the theme of self and society is perfectly expressed through making her character Edna to defy the societal norms by moving out of her marriage and home and having an extramarital affair with Robert as well as claiming the ownership of herself. Through narration, Kate vividly criticizes the patriarchal society for depriving females the freedom to explore themselves through the independent expression of their feelings, thoughts, and actions. She portrays the society the society that teaches girls to betray their instincts and to enslave them to its broad norms and traditions thereby making them live a dual life consisting of both outer and inner self. The gravity of this theme is well expressed through narration. Apart from that, Kate uses narration to express the power of societal conventions in her story by portraying Robert as timid and weak to break the norms. According to this book, Robert feared breaking rules of the society even to the point of betraying his love for Edna since he was too weak to defy the conventions of the society by committing himself into a romantic relationship with a married woman. Through clear narration, Kate was also able to present her theme of motherhood in the story where she portrays the character, Adele Ratignolle, as very motherly, loving and selfless towards others. Kate Chopin supposedly chose the genre, the novel, to document her story since it is more effective in immersing readers into the progression of the story. In addition to that, novels enable readers to meditate as they read the text thereby, allowing them time to think and reflect on what the writer is expressing.

The use of novella in developing and presenting her story provided a wide range of opportunities. The novella allowed the use of various stylistic devices that helped in emphasizing the main ideas and interest of the writer. For example, Kate used two main symbols in the story, which portray various meanings thereby enhancing the meanings of the things she wanted to convey to the society. First, the symbol of birds is widely used within the story depicting various meanings for various occasions. For example, at the start of the story, there is a caged mockingbird and a caged parrot representing the oppressed women during that time (Beer 45). Victorian women in this story, resemble caged birds receiving care but deprived of their precious freedom. Mademoiselle Reisz likens rebellious women to the birds that have to keep strong to fly high above the society if they have to survive. The symbols unveil in various situations. Just before Edna drowned, she saw a bird with broken wings descending into the sea. Unfortunately, she too becomes too weak to swim and eventually drowns. Another symbol that Kate applied perfectly in her novella is the sea. Kate uses the sea to connote various aspects in her story. When Edna learns the art of swimming, it connotes her newly found freedom from the societal deprivation. Kate Chopin expanded her genre by using the sea to represent the societal wave of traditions. As Edna swims to her exhaustion and drowns, Kate expresses Edna's weakness and final exhaustion in her rebellion against the societal norms. However, her death at sea can also be interpreted as the only way of freedom through which she could escape from the societal traditions and norms. Kate Chopin, therefore, uses the genre very well to express her story to the fullest.

On the other hand, 'The Winter's Tale' by William Shakespeare presents a perfect example of a play. In this play, Shakespeare tries to bring things more real and active in the way he presented them. Through direct conversations between various characters in the play, Shakespeare offered more than just entertainment to his readers. There are many lessons that readers can acquire from reading the play such as learning to be patient while handling issues, not being judgmental and not condemning others before getting the authenticity of their actions. Shakespeare intended to convey the message in a lively form that would enable his readers to get the real story and progression as it occurs. In his play, Shakespeare presented various themes in such a perfect manner that would not have been as they are if they were relayed through a different genre. For example, Shakespeare introduced the theme of jealousy just at the beginning of the play where King Leontes asked his wife, Hermione, to convince Polixenes, the king of Bohemia to stay a little longer at the Sicilian palace. According to Muir, King Leontes made this move with the intention of getting an ample time to poison Polixenes because he felt that Polixenes had a romantic affair with his devoted wife, Hermione who was pregnant by then (34). When Polixenes finally got the clue of the plan, he fled away back to his kingdom, Bohemia even if had agreed to stay at the Sicilian palace when he was first convinced by Hermione to do so. Shakespeare presented this issue in a theatrical way that depicts a reality in the play. By presenting this story in the form of a play, Shakespeare was able to enhance the gravity of his intentions by portraying King Leontes as unrestrained in his actions. Based on the play, King Leontes's fury can be seen vividly to be inexplicable and somehow like an infection; it is beyond his control (Muir 23). He acts without thinking over the possible outcomes of his actions. When the wife finally gave birth to a baby daughter named Perdita, King Leontes acted madly by commanding one of his servants called Antigonus to take the newborn child to the desert of Bohemia and leave her there in the adverse climatic conditions to let her die. At the same time, the play perfectly shows how King Leontes puts his lovely wife, Hermione on trial for both adultery and treason. The play presents a perfect presentation that would not have been possibly done to the same extent if he used another genre. Shakespeare also shows Perdita and Hermione getting lost in such a theatrical manner that that seems very real and believable. In addition to that, Shakespeare also presents how King Leontes came back to his senses and asked for forgiveness for having behaved in a way that was unfit for the royal family. The way he presents the reunion of the King Leontes family is so much amazing, mixed with emotions and joy. It moves the readers along the progression of the story as things unveil.

Shakespeare delivered his work in the form of a drama, which opened a window of opportunities for his expression in several ways. First, he was able to present the story in a very active form using dialogues. Dialogue adds life into the story making it interesting and enables readers to follow along as the story progresses easily. The protagonist in this story, which he presented as King Leontes, seems very rude and swift in action without thinking deeply of his actions while the antagonist, acted by Polixenes, the king of Bohemia seems wise and clever. He quickly escapes from the Sicilian palace having learned about the secret plan of his host to poison him. The dialogues used in this play provide a wide range of opportunities such as revealing the various plots where the play occurs as well as the participants in the play. The words spoken by different characters in the play serve to reveal even their intentions as well as their characteristics in contrast with the others. By the use of dialogue, Shakespeare also attained various a vast opportunity to express his story in such a manner that the narration would not make. For example, the dialogue enabled him to present clear conversations between various characters such as between King Leontes and Antigonus, King Leontes and Paulina, and other examples. Apart from that, the dialogue of single persons also helped express some other views and bring more understanding of the things happening. The conflict presented in the various plots within the play enabled Shakespeare to efficiently unfold the plots and increase the excitement and suspense of his readers. However, this achievement would not have been attained if the author would have used the narrative genre to present his story. For this reason, the play was the most effective genre through which Shakespeare could conveniently present his fullest expression of the story.

Furthermore, Shakespeare expanded on the genre by presenting his play in a more vivid way that combined the use of affect and emotional enhancements to carry the feelings and concentrations of readers alongside the progression of the things within the story. For this reason, the story seems very real and can make the reader believe that the real conversation occurred even if the story was just a creative development from some fictional perspective of the author. The way he developed the plots and creatively created the characters depict a high level of creativity and thoughtful imaginations that not only impact the flow of the story but also creates the real feelings in the readers. It keeps readers interested and enthusiastic to read more and discover about what would happen in the subsequent plots, thereby enabling his readers to read more continually. This was effectively enhanced by the use of suspense within the story as well as some fictional elements that added more value and curiosity on the feelings of the readers of this play giving a perfect experience and encounter as they go along with the story.

Conclusion

In conclusion, genre conventions are essential in conveying both literary and visual presentations that are appealing and acceptable by the audience. Various genres are useful for conveying different forms of messages to society. Writers use patterns of genres that are not only suitable for accomplishing their purposes but also those that help in establishing working relationships with their readers.

Works Cited

Beer, Janet. Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Studies in Short Fiction. Springer, 2016.

Muir, Kenneth. The sourc...